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Potter family
The Potter family is an old wizarding family from the West Country. It has existed since the 12th century, but became particularly prominent in the late 20th century, when it became embroiled in the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Prior to that, it did not play an especially important role in wizarding history, although it did produce two members of the Wizengamot. Its most notable member is Harry Potter, conqueror of Lord Voldemort and the only known person to survive the Killing Curse. History Early history The originator of the Potter line was Linfred of Stinchcombe, a 12th century wizard and potioneer. His nickname, 'the Potterer' was eventually corrupted to 'Potter'. He was the inventor of early forms of potions such as Skele-Gro and Pepperup Potion, the sales of which earned him a significant amount of money. This money was passed down to each of his seven children and laid the foundation for the Potter family fortune. Linfred's eldest son, Hardwin, married Iolanthe Peverell, the grandaughter of Ignotus Peverell. She had inherited the Invisibility Cloak from her grandfather due to a lack of male heirs, and so possession of the Cloak passed into the Potter family. She swore Hardwin to secrecy about the existence of the Cloak, and from then on, it was passed down to the eldest of each generation. Later history The Potter family played a role in the institution of the International Statute of Secrecy. Ralston Potter, who was a member of the Wizengamot from 1612-1652, was a firm supporter of the Statute. This displayed a relatively pro-Muggle stance, as it contrasted greatly with the views of more radical members, who wished to declare war on Muggles. These pro-Muggle leanings were also adopted by a later member of the Wizengamot, Henry Potter, a direct descendant of Hardwin and Iolanthe who was openly critical of Minister for Magic Archer Evermonde's decision to ban all wizards from helping Muggles during World War I. Henry's son, Fleamont, took after his forebear Linfred of Stinchcombe in becoming a potioneer. He invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, which has the purpose of taming unruly hair. As his son and grandson were noted for their extraordinarily messy hair, it may be that he created the potion specifically with the Potter hair in mind. Fleamont's invention was wildly successful and quadrupled the family gold, enabling him to sell the company at a vast profit upon retirement. First Wizarding War Fleamont's son, James, was an active participant in the First Wizarding War. He and his wife Lily both joined the Order of the Phoenix immediately upon leaving school, turning down offers to join Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They were forced to go into hiding when a prophecy emerged that their baby son, Harry, could be the one to eventually defeat Voldemort. They hid in Godric's Hollow under the protection of the Fidelius Charm, having chosen their old school-friend, Peter Pettigrew, as their Secret Keeper. Their trust in Pettigrew was misplaced, however; he was actually a spy for Voldemort. Pettigrew gave up their location and Voldemort attacked on 31 October 1981. He murdered James and Lily, but was unable to kill Harry. Lily's sacrifice on Harry's behalf saved him from the Killing Curse, and it rebounded onto Voldemort, destroying his body and forcing what remained of him into hiding. From that day onwards, Harry became known as 'the Boy Who Lived', and was famous throughout the wizarding world. Second Wizarding War Harry grew up in the neglectful household of his mother's Muggle relatives, the Dursleys. At the age of eleven he started attending Hogwarts, where he continually faced off against Voldemort as he attempted to make a return to power. Voldemort was finally successful in regaining his body in July 1995, when Harry was fourteen. From then on, the Second Wizarding War began in earnest, with Harry as one of Voldemort's main targets. Harry was the one of the only living witnesses to Voldemort's return, and for some time, the Ministry of Magic ran a smear campaign against in an attempt to discredit his claims. Eventually, they were forced to concede, after a turbulent battle at the Department of Mysteries, that Voldemort had indeed returned. Harry was vindicated, but had to deal with constant setbacks as those closest to him were picked off by the Death Eaters, and Voldemort took over the Ministry. After finding and destroying all of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and almost dying in the process, Harry finally defeated Voldemort for good at the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998. Blood status The Potter family has traditionally been pure-blood, but has always lived alongside Muggles, and even occasionally married them. They have always been supportive of the Muggle community and firmly against pure-blood ideology. They were excluded from the Sacred Twenty-Eight partly for this reason (in particular, Henry Potter's support for Muggles during World War I), and partly because Potter is also a Muggle surname, and so the compiler of that list suspected them of having Muggle heritage. The current Potter family is half-blood, due to the marriage of James Potter to Muggle-born Lily Evans. Members Family tree References Category:Families